Delhi launches women-only buses

Women avoid travelling in overcrowded buses

By Geeta Pandey BBC reporter in Delhi

The government of the Indian capital, Delhi, has introduced some special women-only buses to make commuting safer for women.

The move follows several high-profile crimes against women in the city in recent months.

The ladies of Delhi can feel reassured that they are being taken care of

Savitur Prasad, Delhi Transport Corporation

Women travelling on buses in Indian cities are all too aware of the perils of the journey.

Often they have to put up with sinister smiles from male passengers, leering looks, lewd remarks, and even touching and groping.

So if they have a choice, women prefer not to get into buses at all.

A large number of women travel by auto-rickshaws just to avoid harassment from male passengers.

Travelling in style

Officials say with the launch of women-only services, women will be more confident to travel by bus.

"The ladies of Delhi can feel reassured that they are being taken care of," Delhi Transport Corporation's chief general manager, Savitur Prasad told the BBC.

Authorities want to reassure women about safety

The special buses run during peak rush hours and cover busy routes.

In all, there are 25 such buses out of a total fleet of over 2,000 buses that cover all corners of Delhi.

Women say these buses have made their lives a lot easier.

And they have reason to be happy about the swanky new buses.

The seats are soft, the curtains spotless and the driver and conductor polite.

The specials are painted yellow and green like any other Delhi bus and they charge the standard fare.

Criticism

But sceptics point to the failure of a similar scheme which was withdrawn for lack of passengers.

Critics also question whether such gender-based segregation can really be a solution in a progressive society.

They say these buses are too few and far between to make a real difference to the millions of women travellers in Delhi.

But for the moment some of the women passengers are certainly not complaining.